Contact: Bob Redding

(202) 543-1440

For Release: Immediate

News Bulletin 96.29

May 14, 1996

Panel Discussion Focuses On Refinish Products

Point-Of-Sale Restrictions
Washington, D.C., May 14, 1996 — The Automotive Service Association (ASA) Collision Division convened a panel of industry representatives to discuss the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) national rule for volatile organic compound (VOC) emission standards for automotive refinish coatings. The discussion focused on an ASA proposal to restrict the sale of automotive refinish products to qualified technicians. The panel discussion was held in conjunction with ASA’s 1996 Annual Convention, April 21-24, in Washington, D.C.

Panelists included Jim Sell, senior counsel for the Government Affairs Division of the National Paint and Coatings Association (NPCA); Tyler Wilson, director of government relations for the Automotive Service Industry Association (ASIA); Clark Plucinski, owner and operator of BCP Autobody in College Park, Md.; and Charlene Graf, vice president for Ketone Automotive, Inc., a distributor of automotive refinishing products and supplies. The panel was moderated by Bob Anderson, AAM, of Anderson’s Automotive Service in Sheffield Village, Ohio.

Sell gave an overview of EPA’s national rule on automotive refinish products. He indicated that the rule would likely be effective by February 1997, and would apply to all areas of the United States, including those designated as attainment areas. He said that distributors would be able to sell non-compliant products until the supply was depleted.

ASA distributed model legislation that, if enacted, would enable states to ensure proper control of the transfer and use of VOC products by limiting the sale of these products to those who are properly able to apply and dispose of them. This concept has been referred to as point-of-sale control. Sell revealed that the EPA rule would not contain provisions mandating point-of-sale controls and that NPCA would take no position on the point-of-sale issue.

Graf and Wilson stated their beliefs that collision repair shops should seek to control use of refinish products through regulatory enforcement by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or EPA and not through the product distributor. Plucinski intimated that the repair industry must share responsibility for environmental cleanup and urged shop owners to take advantage of waste-management seminars offered by the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair (I-CAR) and most waste-management companies.

Most audience members agreed that it was unfair for the legitimate repair industry to be held accountable for VOC products it did not purchase or utilize. A suggestion was made that product control at the point of sale would eliminate unaccountable VOC emissions by eliminating usage by those who refuse or neglect to take steps by which their use can be measured.

ASA Washington Representative Bob Redding commented, “The Clean Air Act provides for increased protection and maintenance of national air quality standards, which all acknowledge are undermined by air pollutants such as VOCs. It does not, however, mandate that states regulate the sale of automotive refinish products to achieve the required 15 percent reduction in VOC emissions. We believe that the individual states provide the most logical avenue to pursue effective protection of the environment, while minimizing the compliance and cost impact to small business. Point-of-sale controls represent the best and least burdensome method to reduce illegal emissions.”

The Automotive Service Association is the largest not-for-profit trade association of its kind serving more than 12,000 businesses and approximately 55,000 professionals from all segments of the automotive service industry.